Genesis Open Power Rankings: Top ten players to ride with at Riviera

The West Coast swing concludes at one of the PGA Tour’s classic venues, Riviera Country Club, host of the Genesis Open. Who will come to the top in the City of Angels?

Los Angeles is the city of stars, and there is no shortage of big names in golf at this week’s Genesis Open.

One of the best regular season fields is here this week with world No. 1 and defending champion Dustin Johnson, as well as a returning Tiger Woods headlining the action.

With a weak event (the Oman Open) going on on the European Tour, some of Europe’s elite like Tommy Fleetwood and Thomas Pieters are here in California.

The field will be taking on a 7,322-yard par 71 track nearing 100 years of existence.

Looking at past winners, big hitters appear to have an edge with defending champion Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson (2014, 2016) claiming recent titles. James Hahn wasn’t short off the tee in his 2015 win, either.

The course yardage in and of itself isn’t particularly daunting, but some short holes like the par-5 1st at 503 yards and the par-4 10th at 315 bring down the hole-by-hole average.

Unlike last week at Pebble Beach, driver is needed or can give an advantage on many holes this week at Riviera. Power off the tee will favor some of the Tour’s biggest bombers.

The tournament’s weather forecast looks benign. Temperatures will creep toward 70 with sunny skies and manageable wind. In other words, it’s your typical rough weather week in Southern California.

Here’s a look at ten players who could join the pantheon of winners that include Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Tom Watson, just to name a few.